Hair curling device



May 3, 1960 c. E. Auz

HAIR CURLING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 2, 1957 3. Gn H JNVENTOR. CAPE E. UZ

At'rorn evs May 3, 1960 c. E VAUZ 2,935,070

HAIR CURLING DEVICE Filed Jan. 2, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR. CAF AUZ BW, #fam/ff vAhorney United States Patent HAIR CURLlNG DEVICE Cape E. Auz, San Francisco, Calif.

Applicationv January 2, 1957, Serial No. 632,169

Claims. (Cl. 132-34) This invention relates to hair curling devices, and more particularly to a new, novel and yet simple means for quickly producing curls and so called permanent waves as are usually administered by beauty shops.

Prior art devices for waving and curling hair have all proven themselves to be, at best, uncomfortable to the person on whom the operation is being performed, and at worst outright dangerous to the persons safety.

In order to obviate the above mentioned undesirable hair curling devices, and also to provide a means for obtaining a permanent wave type of hair treatment in the privacy of ones own home, the development of various types of cold waving solutions for both the home and beauty parlor were subsequently developed and met with a substantial amount of enthusiasm. However, due to the various chemical components found in such cold waving solutions it has been shown where said cold waving `solutions may have a deleterious effect upon the scalp. l l While of course the treating of the hair in permanent waves and curls of various fashion is not necessarily restricted to women, such is usually the case and in this discussion and specification for the present invention it will be understood that the person on whom the device is to operate is a woman, and therefore the emphasis on comfort and safety.

In spite of the questionable safety of cold waving solutions, they nevertheless remain increasingly popular even though most women Will acknowledge the fact that they are not as effective or safe as the usual permanent waving solutions which require heat. It is for this reason that this present invention is proposed.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a device for effectively and quickly waving or curling hair that eliminates the undesirable mechanism associated With the usual heat requiring waving solution, while retaining the desirable solution itself.

It is another object of this invention to provide a device for curling and waving hair that can be used with any type of solution, including plain water, said solution being carried by the device and dispensed in the proper amounts thereby.

Another important object of this invention is the pro vision of a new and novel hair curling means that can rapidly and safely curl the hair without necessity for manually curling, or winding on the lingers.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a hair curling device that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy to operate and maintain.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved method of curling hair in which the hair forming each curl is enclosed within a substantially enclosed chamber in the presence of steam generated within the chamber from the moisture carried by theair, instead of the steam being freely dissipated in the air.

Other objects and advantages will become evident from the detailed specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

'2,935,070 Patented May 3, 1960 ICC Fig. 1 is a part sectional and part elevation of the device of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the device as seen from line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the curling mechanism of this invention;

Figs. 4 and 5 are semi-schematic top views of the curling mechanism of Fig. 3 showing it in operation; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are part sectional views similar to Figs. 1 and 2, but of a modified form.

As seen best in Fig. 1, the present invention is seen to comprise a` generally pistol shaped housing, generally designated 1, that is adapted to be carried and held in a persons hand as by the handle portion 2 of said housing.

The upper or elongated portion of housing 1 encloses a rotatably mounted shaft 3 that is supported for rotation by a bearing 4 which bearing is fixed to housing 1, and by hub 5 of a friction gear 6. Shaft 3 and gear 6 are adapted to rotate together by means of splines 7 on shaft 3. The hub 5 is rotatably mounted in a pair of bearings 8, 9 that are fixed to housing 1. By this structure it is seen that the splined end of shaft 3 is supported by hub 5 which in turn is rotatably supported in bearings 8, 9; thus shaft 3 is free to move axially of gear 6 while rotating therewith.

The Words forward, forwardly, rear, rearwardly, and any other words of similar meaning are used with reference to the handle end of the device, which is the rear end while the forward end or side is the end or side that projects from the handle to the side that may be said to simulate the barrel of a pistol.

The other end of shaft 3, that extends forwardly through bearing 4, is fitted, coaxially, to the small diameter end 11 of a generally bell shaped hood 12 that is adapted to rotate with shaft 3 (Figs. 2, 3).

On one side of, and at the forward edge 13 of hood 12 is a generally U-shaped slot 14 (Figs. 2, 4). The portion 15 of material that remains between the legs of the U-shaped slot 14 forms a tang that extends in a direction circumferentially of the periphery of the hood and is adapted to engage a lock 16 of hair (Fig. 4) as will subsequently be described.

Cooperating with the bell shaped hood 12 is a coaxially aligned stationary element 17 that is formed to a generally conical arcuately recessed configuration that is complementary to the internalbell shaped contour 18 of hood 12 (Fig. 3). Element 17 serves vas a spindle upon which the lock of hair 16 is wound to form a curl. This will be described in more detail along with the subsequent description of the operation. v

At ythe base or enlargedend of the conical portion of spindle 17 a cylindrical surface 19 is provided next to an annular shoulder 20 against which the annular end 13 of hood 12 is adapted to register in its normal position (Fig. 3). Y Y

Rotation of shaft 3 is effected and controlled by a friction type pinion 22 (Fig. l) mounted on the end of a conventional flexible shaft 23 or Bowden cablelfor rotation therewith. The front end 24 of pinion 22 is carried by a needle bearing 25 that projects into a complementary recess formed in said pinion. Bearing 25 carries pinion 22 and is fixed on a pivotally mounted, spring urged lever 26 that, when actuated moves pinion 22 into and out of frictional driving engagement with gear 6. Pivot 28 supports the lever 26 at its end remote from pinion 22. A torsion spring 27 wound about pivot 28 is utilized to yieldably urge lever 26 downward, thus moving pinion 22 to a position out of engagement with gear 6.

A cam surface 29 is provided on the lower side of leverv atop aI www Trigger 31 is slidably mounted in housing 1 and is guided by a pair of pins 33 carried by housing 1 and that extend transversely through trigger 31 and serve to guide the retraction of the trigger by means of the cooperative slots 32 formed in trigger 31; also the top portion of trigger 31 is flanged outwardly as at 34 for slidable engagement with the housing wall to further provide stabilization and guidance for the trigger.

In normal operation the flexible shaft 23 may be rotated continuously, and rotational motion may be irnparted to gear 6 merely by moving trigger 31 rearwardly a predetermined distance thus bringing follower 30 mounted thereon into engagement with cam 29 causing lever 26 to swing upwardly about point 28 allowing bearing to move pinion 22 into engagement with gear 6. There is suicient slack in the Bowden cable to permit this movement.

As noted in the figure the cam surface of cam 29 is not flat, but rather is provided with a slight recess bounded by rises on either end. This tends to locate and centralize follower 30 on cam 29, thus providing a light yet noticeable restraint on further movement of the trigger which may be intentionally depressed further when desired, thus releasing follower 30 from cam 29.

As seen in Fig. 1, when the trigger 31 is retracted to its limit of travel the splined shaft 3 will be pulled back retracting hood 12 into housing 1 (Fig. 2). Retraction of shaft 3 and attached hood 12 is accomplished by means of an arm 3S that is connected at its lower end by a pivot 38 to a bearing rigid with housing 1 and that is provided with conventional collar engaging means 36 at its upper end. A hanged collar 37 is mounted on shaft 3 and adapted for rotation therewith; by residing between the flanges of collar 37 the engaging means 36 are adapted to shift shaft 3 axially a predetermined distance when arm is pivoted rearwardly about the axis of pivot 38. Also connected to pivot 38, and spaced apart from arm 35 is an upwardly directed slantingly disposed lever 39k that is adapted to be supported by and rotated about pivot 38 by means of a horizontal finger 40 on trigger 31.

When trigger 31 is retracted a predetermined distance, finger 40 passes pivot 38 and engages the upwardly inclined surface of lever 39 and upon further retraction of the trigger the inclined part of the lever is brought under the horizontal or laterally projecting iinger 40, thus causing pin 38, which is 4attached to both lever 39 and arm 35 to rotate clockwise, thereby swinging arm 3S to a rearward position which then retracts shaft 3 and hood 12 to the position shown in Fig. 2. Arm 35 is yieldably urged to its forward position by means of a torsion spring 41 wound about pin 38.

Intermediate of the trigger position in which follower 30 actuates lever 26 and the trigger position where shaft 3 is retracted there is a position where a raised cam surface 42 on trigger 31 is adapted to contact and close the points of an electrical switch 43 such as a microswitch located to the rear of trigger 31 in handle 2.

Microswitch 43 is placed in an electrical circuit, generally designated 44, which circuit is provided to heat spindle element 17 as will be described. Circuit 44 connects with an electrical resistance heating element 45 which is imbedded in an annular recess provided therefor in the forward or enlarged cylindrical portion 46 of spindle 17 (Fig. 3).

One of the wires 44a (Fig. 3) leading from the resistance heater 45 is broken by microswitch 43; the other wire 44h leads to a manually adjustable rheostat 47 located on the rear wall of housing 1 that adjustably controls the amount of power and therefore heat emission of. heater 45. As shown the controls for rheostat 47 may be calibrated to indicate relative increments of temperature. Temperatures on the order of 22() degrees Fahrenheit are often required to set the curls or waves in the hair.

The other calibratedV control 48, adjacent to rheostat- 47 is connected in the conventional manner in the motor circuit (not shown) that drives shaft 23, for the purpose of regulating the speed thereof.

The forward face of portion 46 of spindle 17 is secured to the inner vertical surface of front wall 49 of housing 1. As seen in Fig. 3 spindle 17 is provided with a central bore 50 extending from the forward face of portion 46 rearwardly for about 3/1v of the length of said spindle. Bore 50 is adapted to communicate with a similar diameter hole 51 in wall 49. Hole 51 communicates with a vertical bore 52 in wall 49, thus providing through passage from bore 52 in wall 49 to bore 58 in spindle 17. Radiating outwardly from bore 50 so as to openly communicate with the conical arcuate surface of spindle 17 are a plurality of radially directed small passageways 54 that are located along the inner portion of bore Sti. The lower end of bore 52 in wall 49 connects with a conduit 55 (Fig. l) that extends from a small reciprocable plunger type manually operated piston pump 56 that is placed within a solution storage reservoir 57 in the upper portion ofhousing 1. Pump 56 is operated by means'of a handle (not shown) that is mounted on rod 58. It is understood thatrod 58 extends through the wall of the reservoir 57 by means of a conventional packing gland or similar item. The inlet port 59 of pump 56 admits the solution whereupon piston 60 connected to rod 58 is adapted to force the solution through the conduit 55 connected in the usual manner to the outlet port of the pump. There is nothing novel about pump 56 in itself. The top cover of the reservoir 57 is fitted with a large diameter filling plug 61 for replacement of the solution within the reservoir.

The front end of wall 49 is provided with a pair of ears- 63 between which a relatively narrow hair comb 64 may be swingably mounted. Hair comb 64 is provided for blocking purposes and by placing the same on the housing of the hair curling device much time isrsaved by obviatingv the necessity of laying aside the hair curler and picking up a comb, combing or blocking the hair and then picking up the curling device again.

To protect the scalp and to provide a Ibarrier to the direct emission of heat that is being given off by spindle element 17 a guard device 65 is provided. Guard 65 comprises a pair of relatively flat, vertically placed, generally semi-circular plate elements 66, 67 pivotally mounted as at 68 to an ear 69 connected to housing 1. Guardv 65y is mounted on the side of the hair curlingk device that-is` adapted to be placed next to a persons head in such a manner that heat waves emitted from spindle 17 are blocked from said persons head. The lower half 67 of guard 65 may be iixed with the top half 66 pivotally mounted on pin 68 so that -a lock 16 of hair may be easily passed` through the opening or siot 7@ provided therefor and which slot preferably opens outwardly at the forward edge of the plate. A torsion spring '71 may be placed at pivot 68 to yieldably urge top half 66 to the position shown in Fig. 1 in which the slot is alongside and close to the spindle 17.

Having thus described the structure of this present invention the operation of the same is as follows.

ForY a heat requiring or machine type of permanent the procedure is to first wash the hair in order to remove all oils and foreign matter thaty would prevent the waving solutionfrom permeating and softening the hair. Next theV hair is dried. After drying, the hair may be combed so that blocking, or dividing the hair into curlable sized locksrby means of theblocking comb `64 att-ached to the present invention is facilitated.

The hair is then pulled into a strand (Fig. 4) and inserted in groove 73 (Fig. 2) that is cut obliquely into the upper. surface of portion 46 of spindle 17. A guide hook-74 maybe placed over groove 73 for guiding and retaining the strand of hair 16a within the groove. The strand of hairv is then slipped under the tang 15 in slot 14, which tang is adjacent to groove 73, thus allowing the remaining trailing portion 16b (=Fig. 4) of the lock 16 of hair to hang free.

' When shaft 3 and therefore hood 12 is rotated in the direction of arrow 75 (Fig. 4) it will be seen that the trailing portion 16b of the lock of hair will progressively be pulled in through slot 14 and wound in a helix about the arcuately curved conical spindle 17 (Fig. 5).

When the lock of hair 16 has been placed in the position as shown in Fig. 4 the operator may depress trigger 31 to its first position, thereby allowing lever 26 to move pinion 22 into engagement with gear 6, thus causing shaft 3 to turn. This causes the hair to be Wound into a helical coil on spindle 17.

Simultaneous with the operation just described, the operator may `apply a waving or setting solution.

This is accomplished by the operator slowly depressing the handle fitted to rod 58 of pump 56, thereby forcing the solution` contained in reservoir 57 to be conducted through conduit 55 to be ultimately expelled through passageways 54 in the spindle 17. When this is done simultaneously with the rotation of hood 12 the trailing portion 16b of hair that is progressively Wound up is uniformly and thoroughly moistened by said solution. By correctly dimensioning the displacement of the pump 56 or providing a means for adjusting the plunger stroke the proper amount of solution can be metered to the spindle on one stroke of the plunger thus eliminating wastage and assuring an adequate supply for eachkcurl. By winding the hair from the scalp outwards to the end of the strand it is not; possible for the hair to Vbe pulled from the scalp. Also it is not critical or even necessary that the rotation of hood 12 be abruptly halted when the hair has been wound up as further rotation of hood 12 over spindle 17 merely tends to iron or press the hair more firmly into a coil by means of the interaction of spindle 17 and the complementary surface 18 formed within hood 12. If. a heat requiring waving solution` is being used the next operation in the process is to further depress trigger 31 to enable cam 42 mounted thereon to engage switch 43 thus closing circuit 44. When the trigger 31 is moved yfrom the gear actuating position to the heating position follower 30 is released from engagement with cam 2,9 thus allowing rotation of shaft 3 and hood 12 to cease. When the trigger 31 has been depressed to the heating position it closes the circuit to the electrical resistance heaterr 45 mounted in the enlarged portion 46 of spindle 17. By proper adjustment of rheostat 47 and by ernploym'ent, if desired, of such conventional elements as bimetallic thermostats, indicator lights, etc. the operator may apply the proper degree of temperature for some predetermined interval of time.

In practice it is usual to have the temperature of the heaters for setting the hair reach ranges of 200 to 240 degrees Fahrenheit to generate steam Within the enclosed steam chamber defined by the walls of spindle 17 and hood 12. The hair need only be left at this temperature until the solution that has been applied is steamed off leaving the hair dry. This ordinarily need not take more than fifteen to twenty seconds. f

Hood 12 is held in the closed position (Fig. 5) while the hair is being 4heated to ena-ble the steam to build up to a slight pressure thereby assuring the desired penetration of the waving solution into thehair. This is a very desirable feature.

" After the liquids in the Waving solution have been steamed oflf further heating of the hair is unnecessary. YThe trigger 31 is now retracted to its limit of travel thus opening switch 43 :and also retracting hood 12 to the rearward position (Fig. 2) so that the strand of hair that has been curled up on spindle 17 may be freed `therefrom.

' Trigger 31 is yieldably urged to its outer or rest position by means of a flat spring 76 that is mounted to the housing 1.

Definite positions of the trigger are felt by the operator because the cammed surfaces are provided with the 1ocating and centralizing means as described for cams 29 on lever 26.

By this description it is seen that an entire head of hair may be curled or waved producing a plurality of curls as above described. The advantages of this device over prior art devices are many, such as speed. It has been shown where this device can curl the hair in from one-third to one-half less time than formerly required. Safety; the present device makes it all but impossible to burn the person upon whom the invention is being used, and it will not pull or yank the hair from the scalp as it winds the hair from the scalp out. Versatility; this present invention can be used with any type of waving solution, conventional, cold waving, or water and yield results commensurate with each method. Comfort; instead of heat being applied to the entire area over the head, or over a substantial portion thereof, at one time, the heat is applied only to each curl one at a time, and the reduced time the heat is so applied, creates no discomfort.

With the present device, any desired length of hair can be curled. `Thus where the wearer has long hair, and only desires the end portions to be curled, this can be accomplished as readily as curling the hair substantially to the scalp in the case of shorter hair.

The hair itself, at the larger diameter end of the space or chamber dened by the walls of the spindle and hood will function to seal olf the chamber at said end so as to prevent the free discharge of steam from the chamber, and it is the intimate contact between the steam and hair at no less than atmospheric pressure, and preferably at a slight pressure above that of the atmosphere that enables the rapid and effective curling of the hair.

It is to be understood that the present embodiment of this invention is merely illustrative of a form thereof. Minor changes such as placement of a motor within the housing 1 instead of the flexible drive shaft, spur gears instead of friction gears, or an additional cover over the spindle and hood to further increase the steam penetration of the hair, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, are all contemplated by this illustrative form.

As seen in Figs. 6 and 7 a relatively close fitting sleeve Stil made of a preferably rubberlike material, is positioned surrounding hood 12 with the large or forward end of the sleeve adapted to slide over and bear against the end 46 of spindle 17. Sleeve 80 is adapted to be retracted' into housing 1 when not in use and be held therein by means of the enlarged surface 81 of the sleeve residing withinthe axially directed cylindrical surface 82 of housing 1, as shown by the dot-dash position of" Fig. 7. A handle 83 is provided on sleeve 80 for purposes of manipulation.

By the use of sleeve 80 prolonged contact between the generated steam and hair is obtained. In operation the sleeve 80 is normally retracted until after the lock of hair 16 has been wound around spindle 17. Then the Sleeve 80 is moved forward to cover the hood 12 and spindle 17 to restrain the steam from escaping too rapidly. The forward edge 84 of the sleeve is adapted to seat against an annular shoulder 85 provided therefor on end 46 of the spindle.

The lock of hair 16 that is being curled is merely interposed between end 84 and shoulder 85, the deformation of the'relatively soft material of which the sleeve 80 is made is sufiicient to effect a sealaround the strand of hair interposed therebetween.

I claim: f

l. A device for curling a strand of hair having a free end and attached to the scalp of a person at its opposite end comprising: a pair of concentrically disposed spaced members having annular radially opposed surfaces defining an annular space for receiving a helical strand of moistened hair coaxial with said members, means for heating one member of said pair to convert the moisture on said strand intov steam when such strand is between said surfaces, strand engaging means on one of said members adapted to slidably engage said strand at a pointintermediate its opposite ends for progressively guidingA said str-and from said point to its said free end onto the inner member of said pair for forming said helical strand in said annular space upon rotation of one member relative to the other and means connected with said one member for causing said rotation, said surfaces being generally conical and complementary in contour, and the outer member' of said pair being closed at one end to prevent discharge of steam from said one end.

2. A device for curling a strand of hair having a free end and attached to the scalp of a person at its opposite end comprising: a pair of concentrically disposed spaced members having annular radiallyv opposed surfaces deining an annular space for receiving a helical strand of moistened hair coaxial with said members, means for heating one member of said pair to convert the moisture on said strand into steam when such strand is between said surfaces, strand engaging means on one of said members for forming said helical strand in said annular space upon rotation 'of one member relative to the other andj means connected with said one member for causing said rotation, said strand engaging means being carried by the outer member of said pair, and guide means carried by the inner member of said pair for guiding a strand of hair to said strand engaging means, said strand engaging means being adapted to slidably engage such strand at a point spaced a substantial distance from said free end and to guide said strand into said space and onto the inner member of said pair upon said rotation of said one member.

3. A device for curling hair comprising, a housing having a handle adapted to be grasped by the hand of an Ioperator and a portion projecting laterally from one end of said handle, a pair of coaxial concentrically positioned elongated members carried by said portion at the outer end thereof remote from said handle one of which members is rotatable relative to the other for winding a strand of hair to be curled on said other member upon said rotation, guide means associated with said members for guiding a strand of hair to a position between them and on said other member during such rotation, means connected with said one member for rotating it relative to the other, and heating means for heating the space between said members to heat the hair wound on said other member.

4. A device for curling hair comprising, a housing having a generally pistol-grip type of handle and a portion projecting laterally from one end of said handle, a pair of coaxial concentrically positioned elongated members carried by said portion at the outer end thereof remote from said handle one of which members is rotatable relative to the other for winding a strand of hair to be curled on said other member upon said rotation, guide means associated with said members for guiding a strand of hair to a position between them and on said other member during such rotation, means connected with said one member for rotating it relative to the other, and heating means for heating the space between said members to convert moisture on said hair into steam, movable control means carried by said housing and connected with said means for rotating said one member for controlling the movement of said last mentioned means, said control means being accessible for actuation by a nger of the hand grasping said handle.

5. A device for curling hair comprising, a housing having a generally pistol-grip type of handle and a portion projecting laterally from one end of said handle, a pair of coaxial concentrically positioned elongated members carried by said portion at the outer end thereof remote from said handle one of which members is rotatable relative to the other for winding a strand of hair to be 8 curled on said other member upon said rotation, guide means associated with said members for guiding a strand of hair to a position `between them and on said other member during such rotation, means connected with said one member for rotating it relative to the other, and heating means for heating the space between said members to convert moisture on said hair into steam, movable control means carried by said housing and con-f nected with said means for rotating said one member for controlling the movement of said last mentioned means, said control means being accessible for actuation by a nger of the hand grasping said handle, an electrical circuit in which said heating means is connected and said heating means being an electrical heating element, said control means including a switch in said ciry cuit actuated by movement of said control means fof* opening and closing said circuit for controlling said heating means,

6. A device for curling hair comprising; in combination, a member having an outer surface on which a strand of hair to be curled is adapted to be wound, an outer member rotatable about said outer surface and engageable with such strand for winding the latter on said surface, an electrical heating element connected with said inner member for heating it, means connected with said outer member for rotating the latter and, a source of liquid for moistening a strand of hair on said inner member including a conduit extending to said inner member for conducting liquid to said strand, means supporting said inner member and said outer member for rotation of said outer member around said inner member, said last mentioned means also supporting said source of liquid and said conduit in positions for supplying liquid from said source to a strand adapted to be curled around said inner member, and control means carried by the means supporting said inner and said outer member connected with said heating element and with the means for rotating said outer member for regulating the temperature of said heating element and for controlling rotation of said outer member.

7. In a device for curling hair, an inner member having a generally conical outer surface providing an enlarged base end and an apex and concavely curved in direction from said base end to said apex and on which surface a strand of hair is to be wound, an outer member coaxial with said inner member within which said inner member is positioned, said outer member having an inner surface complementary to the outer surface of said inner member and in spaced opposed relation thereto, said outer member being closed over the apex end of said inner member, strand engaging means on said outer member at the base end of said inner member adapted to engage a strand of hair for winding such strand on said concavely curved outer surface of said inner member upon rotation of said outer member in one direction and an opening formed in said outer member adjacent to said strand engaging means for admitting such strand to said concavely curved outer surface, means supporting said inner and said outer member for movement of one relative to the other axially of said members from said position with said outer member over said inner member to a position in which said inner member is fully exposed for removal of a strand thereon over its apex, and means supporting said outer member for said rotation relative to said inner member. v

8. In a device for curling hair, an inner member having a generally conical outer surface providing an enlarged base end and an apex and concavely curved in direction from said base end to said apex and on which surface a strand of hair is to be wound, an outer member coaxial with said inner member within which said inner member is positioned, said outer member having an inner surface complementaly to the outer surface of saidinner member and in spaced opposed relation thereto, said outer member being closed over the apex end of said inner member, strand engaging means on said outer member at the base end of said inner member adapted to engage a strand of hair for winding such strand on said concavely curved outer surface of said inner member upon rotation of said outer member in one direction and an opening formed in said outer member adjacent to said strand engaging means for admitting such strand to said concavely curved outer surface, means supporting said inner and said outer member for movement of one relative to the other axially of said members from said position with said outer member over said inner member to a position in which said inner member is fully exposed for removal of a strand thereon over its apex, and means4 supporting said outer member for said rotation relative to said inner member, an electrical heating element carried by said inner member for heating a strand adapted to be wound thereon.

9. In a device for curling hair, an inner elongated member on which a strand of hair is adapted to be wound for forming curls coaxial with the longitudinal axis of said member, a hollow outer member enclosing the sides of said inner member and having an end wall at one of its ends extending over one end of said inner member, said inner member being formed with a shoulder at the end thereof that is opposite to said one end of said inner member which shoulder faces generally axially of said inner member in a direction toward said one end thereof, the end of said outer member that is remote from said end wall being adjacent to and facing said shoulder, a sleeve extending across the space between said shoulder and the end of said outer member adjacent thereto for preventing loss of steam when a curl of moistened hair is on said inner member and the curl is heated to convert the moisture thereon to steam.

10. In a device for curling hair, an inner elongated member on which a strand of hair is adapted to be wound for forming curls coaxial with the longitudinal axis of said member, a hollow outer member enclosing the sides of said inner member and having an end wall at one of its ends extending over one end of said inner member, said inner member being formed with a shoulder at the end thereof that is opposite to said one end of said inner member which shoulder faces generally axially of said inner member in a direction toward said one end thereof, the end of said outer member that is remote from said end wall being adjacent to and facing said shoulder, a sleeve extending across the space between said shoulder and the end of said outer member adjacent thereto for preventing loss of steam when a curl of moistened hair is on said inner member and the curl is heated to convert the moisture thereon to steam, said sleeve being movable axially of said outer member to uncover said space, means supporting said inner member for movement thereof axially outwardly of said outer member for releasing a curl from said inner member, means for heating said curl when said inner member is within said outer member and when said inner member is heated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,686,575 Reynolds Oct. 9, 1928 1,936,580 Borden Nov. 28, 1933 2,767,719 Warholak Oct. 23, 1956 

